Right Pulmonary Artery Arising from Ascending Aorta

On rare occasions the right pulmonary artery arises from the ascending aorta or its immediate branches. This communication comprises an account of 3 patients who had this embryological error. Included is a review of previous similar reports, a discussion of the aberrant evolution of the pulmonary artery, the resultant signs and symptoms, and the changes produced in the small arteries of the lungs. Literature Review We are aware of the appearance in medical writing of 11 patients with aortic origin of the right pulmonary artery. In 1936 Ambrus1reported the case of a 6-day-old female and referred to accounts of a 25-year-old female by Fraentzl2in 1868 and an 8-month-old female by Doering3in 1914. This anomaly does not seem to have been described again until 1949, when Bopp4wrote of his experience with one child. Additional records of patients having this anomaly have been presented more